Smile for Me
by madamada-chan
Summary: Wearing a smile all the time has made Fuji Syuusuke adept at telling whether a person’s smile is sincere or not. It was not until he met Echizen Ryoma that he discovered a person could have more than two smiles.


For lj comm **50 Lovequotes**

Theme **01.** _I would go anywhere to get to you, so why is it that all you have to do is smile to get to me?_

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Wearing a smile 24/7 has made Fuji Syuusuke adept at telling whether a person's smile is sincere or not. It was not until he met Echizen Ryoma that he discovered a person could have more than two smiles.

**_"I would go anywhere to get to you, so why is it that all you have to do is smile to get to me."_**

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**Smile for Me**

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"Game and Match. Won by Echizen." Fuji announced from the umpire's post, before turning to Ryoma and smiling sweetly. "Well done."

"Doumo." Ryoma lightly bowed, tugging the brim of his cap.

"Ahhhh mou…" Momo collapsed on the other side of the court. "Don't you ever hold back? It's just practice, man. Practice!"

Ryoma smirked. "Momo-senpai, if you have the energy to talk that much, why don't we have another round?"

Momo sighed exasperatedly. "No more!" He sat up. "Besides, I'm hungry. Wanna grab a bite after practice?"

Ryoma's smirk widened. "Loser's treat."

Momo collapsed back on the ground.

"You're too much." He whined.

"Mada mada da ne."

When Momo wasn't looking, Echizen's features became relaxed, brightened by a barely visible smile.

But Fuji saw it, and he felt himself smile along with Echizen.

_'That smile is only for Momo, his best friend.'_

"Everyone, gather around!" Tezuka called. "That's it for today's practice. For the regulars, Inui prepared a new training menu for each of you. Be sure to get it from him before you go home. That's all. Dismissed."

Eiji was the first to approach Inui, bouncing excitedly. "Ne ne, Inui! Anything new on my training menu, nya?" Oishi talied behind him. "Ah, thanks, Inui." He smiled as Inui handed their respective training menus. Inui then distributed the remaining sheets to the rest of the regulars.

"Geh!"

Fuji looked at Ryoma and caught his surprised face just in time, right before it turned into a scowl.

"Che."

"What is it, Ochibi?" Eiji peered over Ryoma's shoulder.

"No… nothing." Ryoma tried to keep the paper out of Eiji's sight, but Momo sneaked behind him and snatched it from his hand. "Momo-senpai!" Ryoma lunged forward. Momo raised the paper as far up as he could, keeping it out of Ryoma's reach. Ryoma scowled. That was the only thing he could do as pride stopped him from jumping to take the cursed sheet back from Momo.

"Hmmm..." Momo read the paper over his head then suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. "Echizen! This is... Don't...Haha... Don't be shy!" Ryoma snatched the paper back as soon as Momo lowered his arms to hold his stomach. "I was just thinking it's about time." Momo laughed louder.

"What, what, what? What is it Momo?" Eiji asked eagerly.

Ryoma sighed. "Inui-senpai wants me to drink five bottles of milk a day." Ryoma scowled at Eiji when the acrobatic play specialist started to laugh along with Momo.

"There there." Oishi patted Ryoma placatingly. "You're still young. Unless it's in the genes, I'm sure you'll still grow taller."

Ryoma shuddered upon hearing that. He surely hoped his father's apparent lack of height wasn't hereditary. "R… Right." He grinned lopsidedly.

And once again, Fuji didn't miss it.

_'He smiles like that when Oishi is mothering him.'_

"But five bottles..." Oishi started mumbling to himself. "I wonder if that won't upset his stomach..."

"I know!" Eiji suddenly perked up after his laughter finally subsided. "Let's all go to the burger joint and make Ochibi eat lots and lots!"

Momo and Ryoma looked at each other.

And then they smirked.

"Thank you for treating us, Eiji-senpai!"

"You two…" Eiji's head fell, feeling thoroughly cheated.

Fuji chuckled.

_'Whenever he's around Eiji, his smirk is different. It's more playful than provocative. And his eyes are always filled with mischief.'_

When they were about to leave, Ryoma approached Inui and looked at the latter questioningly. He opened his mouth and took in a breath, about to say something. But whatever it was that he wanted to say, he suddenly changed his mind and sighed. "Nothing."

Inui adjusted his glasses.

"If you follow this new menu, I'm sure you'll do just fine. But if you still don't grow even by half a centimeter after three months..." He rubbed his chin, as if deep in thought. "Hmmm..." His glasses glinted when he started nodding to himself. "Of course, not to worry. There's still Renji. I could consult him on this matter..." He mumbled cryptically as he headed for the club room.

Ryoma, on the other hand, simply blinked owlishly at his retreating back. "Inui-senpai says the weirdest things..." He flinched when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Just trust him. Senpai knows what he's doing." Kaidoh said, following his words with his trademark hiss, before exiting the court as well.

Ryoma pulled the brim of his cap down. "Che. Of course I know that."

And albeit it was partly concealed by his cap, Fuji clearly saw the corner of his lips lightly quirk upwards.

_'That smile is the very proof that both Inui and Kaidoh have gained his respect, not just as senpais, perhaps even as friends as well.'_

---

Eiji dragged a rather reluctant-looking Oishi along. Together, they led the rest of the regulars as they exited the school's main gate and headed for the direction of the burger joint.

When Tezuka turned to the opposite way as they reached the next block, Oishi stopped.

"Eh? Tezuka, you're not going with us too?"

Everyone looked at the captain upon hearing the query. Inui and Kaidoh had decided to stay behind and told the others that they were going to start immediately on their new training menus.

"I have to go home early." He plainly stated. "Thanks for your hard work, everyone."

"Oh well. See ya, Tezuka." Eiji shrugged then began to drag Oishi again. Behind them, Momo and Taka-san closely followed.

"Echizen." Tezuka called softly, so only Ryoma could hear.

Ryoma looked back, blinking up at his captain.

Tezuka took something out of his pocket, then threw it at him.

Ryoma caught it. When he saw what it was, he grinned and nodded to Tezuka. "Uiisu!"

"Mm" Tezuka nodded back, then headed off.

A few steps in front of him, Fuji wore a knowing smile.

That tennis ball meant a silent agreement. They would meet at their usual place, at the usual time, and practice like always. It was also Tezuka's way of gauging Ryoma's play.

_'The glint in his eyes is bright and warm. His grin is like that of a child's- innocent and optimistic. That is the way he smiles only for Tezuka. The one and only person he will- perhaps, for the rest of his life- call 'Captain.''_

---

"Ehhh... So this is the new sushi-ya everyone in class is talking about…" Momo stopped, curious about the place. He was looking at the clear glass windows with awe, though he couldn't see what was inside because it was covered with an oversized banner that read "Now Open".

"Hmmm... I thought it looked familiar." Echizen stepped beside him. "I've been there before."

"Eh? No fair! Why didn't you tell me? We could've gone together." Momo huffed indignantly.

"No no… I didn't mean this one. They have a branch in New York, just right across the private school I went to when I was in elementary."

"So?" Momo pressed on. "How is it?"

"I've tasted better sushi." Ryoma shrugged. "If you're planning to eat here, go ahead. But you'll be wasting your money 'cause their food's overpriced."

Ryoma started walking towards the direction of the burger joint. "Besides, Kawamura-senpai's is a lot better." He added noncommittally.

"Eh? Erm… thanks, Echizen." Taka-san scratched his head, grinning sheepishly.

Fuji stifled a chuckle when he saw Ryoma shift uncomfortably. He probably felt embarrassed after offhandedly complimenting someone.

_' He knows that Taka-san is very appreciative of little things. And to have made his senpai happy with a casual comment must have made him feel awkward. But deep down, he's happy. If anything, the smile in his eyes is a clear indication.'_

---

After eating, the golden pair were the first ones to leave. As soon as they got up, Eiji began babbling to Oishiabout their new training menu, and continued to do so all the way to the exit.

Soon after, Taka-san left as well, saying that he had to go back to their sushi restaurant to help out.

Fuji, Momo and Ryoma were the last ones to leave. When they got out of the burger joint, the sun had almost completely sunk. Though the surroundings was still tinted orange, the moon was already high up and the stars were beginning to appear one by one.

While they were striding on the sidewalk, a familiar beep called their attention before a red car parked beside them. The front window opened and the driver- a very pretty young woman- spoke. "Syuusuke, want to ride with me home?"

"All right, Nee-san." The younger Fuji replied with a bright smile. He then turned to Momo and Ryoma. "Well then, I'm off now."

"Thanks for the hard work, Fuji-senpai!" Momo grinned.

"You guys too." Fuji grinned back.

"Ah, right. We have to go back to the school to get my bike too. And then I'm taking this kid home." Momo started to head for the direction of the school, humming to himself.

Behind him, Ryoma was mumbling "Who're you calling a kid?".

While Momo wasn't looking, Fuji swiftly grabbed Ryoma's hand and gave it a little squeeze before letting go. He got into the car then closed the door. But when he looked out the window, he was startled when he saw Ryoma's face.

And then he smiled.

_'There are times that he seems like an entirely different person, as if there's this other side of him that would only show when he's out of the tennis courts. His gentle gaze, his little smiles… Just when I think I've already seen all of them, one thing or another will draw out an entirely new expression from this usually bored kid. And ever since I've first seen them, I've considered it a challenge to catch them, if not draw them out myself.'_

_'This particular expression that he has at this very moment- the softness in his gaze, the unrestrained smile on his lips- is his most captivating face of all.'_

_'And this is the smile that's only for me.'_

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**Disclaimers:** Tennis no Oujisama belongs to Konomi Takeshi. :D

When I first read the quote, I thought that it would be common to expect the corresponding fic to center on Fuji. (Especially since Ochibi isn't the smiling type.) But Ishka being Ishka was being stubborn again, and wanted to try "what if it was Ochibi who captivated Fuji with his smile?"

And so, it took months to accomplish that... If you could call it an accomplishment XD

I seriously thought I'll never be able to finish this fic. It was hard enough to think of how each regular could possibly make Ryoma smile, but it was even harder to depict _what_ kind of smile they could draw out of him. (sweatdrops)

Anyway, I'm really glad this fic made it through all the stress. Haha. And erm... thanks so much for reading! I hope my next post will be a lot better (shrinks)

And of course, please send over your cookies and kisses to **forochel** for beta reading :D


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